The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-12-01
ATLANTA.
The City Redeems Herself by vot-
ing Against Prohibition, After
Two Years. Trial.
The Whole Town Crazy---Church
Women Preaching and Pray
ing at the Polls.

ATLANTA, November 26.-After the most heated
ontest on record in the state of Georgia. Atlanta
to-day voted against prohibition. The fight has
been peculi srly bitter one. For over a month
partizans have been engaged in the intest. Meet
ings have been held In every ward, and local
speakers and foreign statesmen have stumped the
county from almost every curbstone in the city,
and very cross road in the country
Early in the campaign the prohbitionists leased
the largest warehouse in the city and fitted it up
with seating capacity for 5000 people. Almost
nightly that building has been filed and such
scenes of wild enthusiasm are rarely witnessed.
Almost every minister in the city preached pro-
hloltlon from his pulpit Sunday after Sunday
Both sides had full campaign funds and managed
their respective causes for all they we're worth.
The negro vote Was the bone of contention, and
was the balance OF power. Each eide made the
most strenuous efforts to sc ure 1t in every
way possible The negroes were considerably di
vtded on the subject, thou h the majority OF them
voted with tire antis.
One of the features of the contest has been the
active part taken by many women of the city.
Several OF the churches organized committees
from among their female members, who took an
active part in the campaign. They organized
the colored churches into societies and met with
them and prayed with them day after day. The re-
suit OF their work was shown to-day by the ap-
pearance of large number of women at the polls
with blue ribbons. They served hot coffee and
Sdnu"iOues ~ eHery y lllnp pace ana conducted
prayer meetings and singing crusades in the open
air
Fulton county, in which Atlanta is located, voted
two years ago on the same question, and went for
prohibition by majority of 22S out of about 500
votes.
The registration this time exceeded that of last
year by2OOO votes. The principal fight made on
prohibition during the campaign was, that it did
not prohibit and that Intoxicating drinks eonld he
openly purchased in number of places through
out the city, which paid taxes to the United States
government for the sale of whisky. Thousands of
gallons have been sent in each month
from the cities around Atlanta, from
where 1t was almost as easy to get jug as it was
at the bars in the ci y The sntis claim that pro-
hi 'ition injured the city, which had formerly cen
receiving 5000 yea in whisky licenses, without
decreasing in the slightest the amount of whisky
sold the city, The prohibitionists, on the other
hand, claim that Atlanta has had prohibitions
that,w 1t was 30 voted TWO years ago the licenses
that then existed did not expire, some of them,
until almost year ago, and that since tat time
the domestic wine clause in the local option bill al
lowed many places in the city by which the law
could be easily evaded
This .as, however, remedied by the last legisla-
ture, which put license wine rooms, which
license will go into effect after January l. The
city has gone "wet" by probably 100 majority
Great enthusiasm prevails on the streets.